Transforming the entertainment ecosystem

The challenge: too much content, not enough clarity

The rise of streaming, direct-to-consumer apps and local platforms drastically redrew the entertainment landscape in Belgium and beyond. Consequently, Telenet questioned their role in the landscape and decided they needed a new strategic, future-oriented position to remain competitive and relevant. 

As the number of streaming services grew and more broadcasters built their own platforms, customers gained more choice. Simultaneously, they also risked losing track of the increasingly overwhelming array of content. Seeing both the threat as well as the opportunity, Telenet turned to Craftzing with a series of crucial questions, like: how can we assist people in making a selection from this vast array of content? What role can or should we play in this evolving landscape? And are we the designated party to provide the overview that users are yearning for?

The solution: Telenet TV as the starting point of the content journey

Telenet’s content platform, Telenet TV, shifted from being a platform where customers picked a channel to one where they discover content that matches their interests. A shift that can easily be remembered as one of the most significant changes in the Belgian television experience. 

Two new zones made that shift tangible for customers:

• The “Channels” tab became an inspirational hub built around what broadcasters have aired over the past week, letting people browse by broadcaster or genre with a clear line back to the source. In effect, this feature was like a more user-friendly alternative to the traditional TV guide. 

• The “Streaming” tab became a single gathering place for both Telenet's own and third-party streaming services, along with rental movies, so customers no longer have to hop between apps to find something to watch. 

From that point ont, Telenet customers only needed their Telenet TV box to explore content from various sources like VRT Max, VTMGo, GoPlay, Streamz, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ alike.

The approach: validating and shaping a concept to turn a content platform into a curator

The breakthrough in finding Telenet TV’s new position in the market came from a simple idea: branded pages. 

Craftzing proposed giving broadcasters the opportunity to build small worlds around their own brand inside Telenet TV, bridging the gap between what broadcasters offered on their own platforms and what customers could find inside Telenet's experience. That idea also meant redefining Telenet's own role. 

With the new “Channels” section overlapping with existing areas like the TV-theek, the TV Guide and the Apps tab, and many customers still associating the TV-theek with paid content they preferred to avoid, Craftzing and Telenet worked through an extensive strategy process to land on a clearer, singular role for Telenet TV: that of a curator, a guide that helps people navigate the full breadth of available content without needing to own that content itself. 

Instead of first picking a streaming service, customers could now pick the content they wanted directly. Craftzing then designed the service and user experience behind that new role, testing two early prototypes of the concept with users before combining the strongest elements of both into a final, validated design. This approach was chosen deliberately to make sure the platform would remain clear and maintainable for years rather than needing another overhaul soon after launch.